Women and the Kuwaiti National Assembly

Kuwaiti women’s long struggle for a seat in the National Assembly culminated with remarkable success on May 16, 2009. For the very first time in Kuwait’s political history, the women’s movement managed to send four female representatives to the National Assembly. Their electoral success ushers a new phase in Kuwait’s political process in which women finally become active participants. The goal of this article is to examine women’s struggle for political rights, their electoral success, their role in current Kuwaiti politics, their accomplishments, and their future in politics in Kuwait

Women and Politics in Kuwait

On May 17, 2008, Kuwait conducted its Twelfth election of its National Assembly. The most remarkable aspect of the election was the active participation of women, who gained their right to vote in May 2005. This paper argues that the main impediment for women’s inability to win any seat in the 11th and 12th Assemblies is their failure to work with each other and support their political rights. The objective of this article is to examine the Kuwaiti women’s struggle for political rights, their participation in the last two elections and investigate their inability to win any seats, in spite of the conduciveness of the political environment to their electoral success

The Russia-Ukraine War: Geopolitical and Gendered Impact on the Greater Middle East

The Greater Middle Eastern Region is composed of the Levant, the Arab Gulf Region, North Africa, and Central Asia. It represents a geopolitical region and cultural civilization that is at the heart of global affairs. Its geostrategic location made it vulnerable throughout history to political, security, economic, and cultural developments. The region is heavily influenced by the current war in Ukraine, and the aim of this article is to explore its consequences in terms of political implications, security, economic and energy considerations, and socio-cultural impact, with a special attention to the gendered impacts of the war on the region

Arab Spring and Women in Kuwait

The Arab Spring, a revolutionary wave of protests and rebellions, and a process of regime change and democratization is sweeping the Arab world, but marginally touching women’s issues in Kuwait. While Arab women in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan, and Syria are active participants and co-beneficiaries of the process of change, Kuwaiti women have lost their electoral gains made in 2009 in the latest elections held in February of 2012. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of Arab Spring on women in Kuwait, and their continued struggle for political participation in the country. It will also highlight the accomplishments of the women’s movement and its inability to utilize the general atmosphere supportive of women’s rights in Kuwait to maintain its parliamentary representation in the Kuwaiti National Assembly

The Greater Middle East Covid-19 Crisis Management: Challenges and Opportunities

The outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis in early 2020 took the whole world by surprise. The world witnessed its horrific spread in Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Brazil in utter disbelief and helplessness. The Greater Middle East (GME) region too faced the pandemic-induced misfortune in no small measure. Governments and non-governmental organizations scrambled to articulate a response equivalent to the challenges. While the crisis clearly posed an unprecedented set of challenges in human history, it did provide some opportunities as well. If nothing else, the crisis brought home the importance of pandemic-preparedness, biosecurity, health security, food security, social cohesion, public compliance, and regional and international cooperation as succinctly as possible. While a few countries in the GME region did succeed in stepping up to the challenge in the early six months of the crisis well into the end of 2021, a few others fell considerably short in their response and are still struggling to provide even basic anti-virus measures. This article provides a general overview of the GME’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and highlights some of the major challenges faced by the states and society in the region and the opportunities thereof. The article also touches upon the policies, efforts, opportunities, struggles, and challenges in the sub-regions of the GME: the Levant, the Gulf, North Africa, and Central Asia

The Geopolitics of the North African Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic: Opportunities and Challenges

The sudden outbreak of the Coronavirus in January 2020 took the world by surprise. Initial state-response was mired by confusion, uncertainty, apprehension, and near demoralization. However, several countries around the world, including some Middle Eastern and North Africa countries (MENA) took the challenge seriously in the early stages and set an example to be emulated globally. The objective of this article is to examine the response of the North African countries to the pandemic, examine the opportunities and the challenges facing the region, and add up the lessons learned in order to be better prepared for impending crises facing the nation-state, the region at large, and the international community. This survey article seeks to highlight the common denominators whenever possible and examine country-specific conditions that determine the success or the failure in dealing with the Corona Crisis in Middle East and North Africa